Tag: Arizona Coyotes

Be sure to give the Arizona Coyotes a big thank you as it was with their 2-1 win over the L.A. Kings last night that officially punched Nashville’s ticket into the 2017 NHL Playoffs. With this berth, the Predators now have three consecutive playoff appearances with ten out of thirteen seasons overall. So, needless to say, Nashville is no stranger to the playoffs, but surpassing the second round has always seemed to allude the team.

So, now that Nashville is officially in the hunt for Lord Stanley’s Cup this season, who will fight them for it? If the playoffs were to begin today, that lucky opponent would be the ever-so-popular Chicago Blackhawks. As you might agree, that isn’t exactly in Nashville’s favor. However, there is still a slim (and by slim, I mean really slim) chance that Nashville could be matched up with either Minnesota or whomever wins the Pacific Division. With only three games left in the regular season for the Predators, as I mentioned, the odds aren’t in Nashville’s favor. But, to keep a little optimism going here, all is not lost if Nashville faces Chicago in the first round. Is it the most ideal? Absolutely not for a number of reasons, but stranger things have happened. However, with Nashville’s consistent inconsistency this season, it will certainly be an uphill battle no matter who the Predators are ultimately paired with in the first round.

Moments ago, the NHL released the final roster of the 2017 NHL All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles January 28th-29th. Not surprisingly, Nashville has only one player on said roster: P.K. Subban, who was voted by the fans as the Central Division Captain. And, with his upper-body injury slated to be healed by the All-Star Weekend, Subban may have to relinquish his captain duties to someone else for safety’s sake.

– CENTRAL DIVISION

P.K. Subban – Nashville Predators

Corey Crawford – Chicago Blackhawks

Devan Dubnyk – Minnesota Wild

Ryan Suter – Minnesota Wild

Duncan Keith – Chicago Blackhawks

Patrick Kane – Chicago Blackhawks

Jonathan Toews – Chicago Blackhawks

Vladimir Tarasenko – St. Louis Blues

Patrik Laine – Winnipeg Jets

Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche

Tyler Seguin – Dallas Stars

– ATLANTIC DIVISION:

Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens

Tuukka Rask – Boston Bruins

Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning

Shea Weber – Montreal Canadiens

Erik Karlsson – Ottawa Senators

Frans Nielsen – Detroit Red Wings

Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning

Vincent Trocheck – Florida Panthers

Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs

Kyle Okposo – Buffalo Sabres

Brad Marchand – Boston Bruins

– PACIFIC DIVISION:

Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers

Martin Jones – San Jose Sharks

Mike Smith – Arizona Coyotes

Cam Fowler – Anaheim Ducks

Brent Burns – San Jose Sharks

Drew Doughty – L.A. Kings

Ryan Kesler – Anaheim Ducks

Joe Pavelski – San Jose Sharks

Jeff Carter – L.A. Kings

Johnny Gaudreau – Calgary Flames

Bo Horvat – Vancouver Canucks

– METROPOLITAN DIVISION:

Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins

Braden Holtby – Washington Capitals

Sergei Bobrovsky – Columbus Blue Jackets

Evgeni Malkin – Pittsburgh Penguins

Wayne Simmonds – Philadelphia Flyers

John Tavares – New York Islanders

Alexander Ovechkin – Washington Capitals

Ryan McDonagh – New York Rangers

Justin Faulk – Carolina Hurricanes

Taylor Hall – New Jersey Devils

Seth Jones – Columbus Blue Jackets

What do you think about the roster for this year’s All-Star Weekend? Nashville isn’t the only team with one representative, but if you want to include former Preds (Ryan Suter, Devan Dubnyk, Seth Jones, and Shea Weber), then Nashville’s actually pretty well represented.

All joking aside, the big question is will Subban be healthy enough to participate? As mentioned, his 2-3 week recovery time ends at about the time of the All-Star festivities, but should not participate if it risks re-injury (thus keeping him out of the lineup even longer). Of course, that will be something the organization and Subban discuss as time gets closer.

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Wednesday that the club has recalled defenseman Stefan Elliott from Milwaukee (AHL) under emergency conditions. He will wear No. 7 for the club.

Elliott, 25 (1/30/91), has 24 points (8g-16a) in 82 career NHL contests with Colorado and Arizona since the 2011-12 season. Prior to being acquired by the Predators on Jan. 15, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound blueliner notched six points (2g-4a) in 19 games with the Coyotes, and since the trade, he has 17 points (6g-11a) in 29 AHL games with the Admirals. Colorado’s third selection, 49th overall (second round), in the 2009 Entry Draft was a 2015 AHL All-Star, the 2011 recipient of the Bill Hunter Trophy as the WHL’s top defenseman and the 2009 CHL Scholastic Player of the Year while with the Saskatoon Blades.

ICYMI, the 25-year-old defenseman has been recalled in time to play against the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow night due to Ryan Ellis suffering an upper-body injury in last night’s game against the Dallas Stars.

As you can see from this .gif, there’s no doubting why Ellis left the game last night. Ouch. While I am not sure how serious this injury is, I can assume he’ll be out for a few games – possibly the remainder of the regular season, which consists of just five more games.

The Predators will have their third chance to clinch a playoff spot tomorrow night with a win over the 43-25-8 Penguins. Also, if the Avalanche lose to the Presidents Cup-winning Capitals Friday, that will also give Nashville a spot in the playoffs.

In a trade that took “weeks“to develop, the Nashville Predators traded defenseman Victor Bartley to the Arizona Coyotes for fellow defenseman Stefan Elliott. You may be wondering, “How could this trade – of all trades – have taken weeks?” Well, it involves multiple players and more than just Arizona and Nashville.

Wanting Jarred Tinordi and Stefan Fournier from the Montreal Canadiens, the Arizona Coyotes configured a deal with Nashville (Elliott for Bartley) and then traded Victor Bartley and John Scott to Montreal for Tinordi and Fournier. Make sense?

Per Yahoo! Sports NHL, newly acquired Stefan Elliott has 82GP, 8G, 24PTs, and 16 PIM. Eh, not too shabby of a pick up with the luck Nashville has been having lately. Any goals would be wonderful, am I right?

Beyond Nashville trading defense for defense, there’s the fact that the Pacific Division All-Star Captain has been traded off to the Atlantic Division. What does that mean for John Scott and the All-Star Game? Surprisingly, not much. There’s a good chance he’ll just play out his role as Pacific Division Captain whist listed on the St. John’s IceCaps roster; both Scott and Bartley will join Montreal’s minor league affiliate.

Speaking of Victor Bartley, it’s been real. Placed on waivers by Nashville back in November, a trade featuring the 27-year-old defenseman was bound to happen. Originally an Undrafted Free Agent, Victor Bartley bounced around Sweden before signing his first NHL contract with the Predators in 2011. Of course, Bartley will probably be best remembered for his rendition of “Gangnam Style” with the Milwaukee Admirals:

Ah, good times.

Moving forward, let’s here what the Predators had to say about their newly acquired defenseman from Arizona:

Elliott, 24 (1/30/91), has skated in 82 career NHL games, posting 24 points (8g-16a) in parts of five seasons with the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound defenseman has spent the 2015-16 campaign with Arizona, notching six points (2g-4a), 10 hits and 16 blocked shots in 19 games.

The native of Vancouver, B.C., was Colorado’s second-round selection (49th overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft.

Everyone likes Fridays, but this one was a little extra special for Predators fans as newly acquired “savior of all things offense” Ryan Johansen would be making his debut in Nashville gold against the Colorado Avalanche. While we certainly didn’t expect Johansen to come out guns a blazing, the kid had other plans:

FIRST PERIOD:

Ryan Johansen decided 2:35 was the best time to show off his skills, notching his first shot as a Predator and his first goal (7th of the season) on the power play. Mattias Ekholm (10) and Mike Ribeiro (22) notch the assist on the new Predator’s goal. What beautiful patience.

Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog would give the Avalanche another lead at 7:40 for his 10th goal of the season.

Filip Forsberg would notch his 11th goal of the season at 16:37, tying the game once again. Roman Josi (22) and Ryan Johansen (21) would pick up the assists. Note, this is Johansen’s first assist with the Predators.

Despite Rinne’s exceptional moves, Tyson Barrie’s power play goal at 11:00 gave Colorado the lead once again.

Jack Skille would notch the empty-netter with just two seconds left in the match, sealing the game in favor of Colorado.

Despite the back-and-forth scoring between both clubs, the Predators could not regain the lead after Ryan Johansen’s initial goal in the first period and fell to the Avalanche 5-3. Though Johansen’s goal should have given Nashville a boost, it seemed as if the team did not respond well to the advantage. Penalties ravaged both clubs, with the Predators managing to tally six of the nine during the match. Within those six penalties, Colorado was able to score on three, essentially costing Nashville the win. However, looking at the bright side, Ryan Johansen looked great in his debut, collecting two points overall (1 G, 1 A).

Nashville will have to lick their wounds on the way to the airport as they take on the Arizona Coyotes tomorrow night in Phoenix.

Oh wow, I am actually getting a chance to update the blog! For those of you who have been waiting patiently, thank you. I am wrapping up my senior year at Tennessee Tech and – along with work – it has me pressed for any kinds of free time. It’s worth it though, really.

Any who, enough excuses — What excuse does Nashville have with this scoring drought their experiencing? Since I last posted an article, the Predators have had twelve goals in six games. Okay, so it’s not all about how many you can score — this is hockey, not basketball. Well, what if I told you, in those six games, Nashville tallied 198 shots-on-goal. Needless to say, it isn’t a matter of why aren’t the Predators taking shots (because they clearly are), it’s why can’t they put the biscuit in the basket? Which teammate pissed off the hockey gods? Well, let’s just move forward into the recap, shall we?

PRE-GAME:
• Nashville recalled forward Cody Bass to replace the injured Colin Wilson. While we aren’t 100% sure how or when Wilson got hurt, we want to believe it has something to do with this:

FIRST PERIOD:
• Arizona would get the ball rolling first at 17:20 on a powerplay goal from Oliver Ekman-Larsson for his sixth goal of the season.
• Despite knocking 13 shots-on-goal compared to Arizona’s 4, the Predators trailed the Coyotes going into the second period 1-0.
• Oh, and Pekka was doing #JustPekkaThings again:

While it doesn’t look like much, he did not return to the game and is expected to be our for the next four games.
• Calle Jarnkrok would finally slip one past Mike Smith at 12:32 on the powerplay for his fifth goal of the season. Shea Weber (5) and Filip Forsberg (11) would tally the assists.

Ah, but he released his inner Craig Smith and completely woofed it. Whoops.
• But Filip Forsberg would answer the Frosty call at 17:01 with a beautiful feed from Mike Ribeiro for his fifth goal of the season. Ribeiro would collect his eleventh assist along with Shea Weber who collected his seventh.

• James Neal would make up for that missed opportunity at 19:10 with an empty-netter to seal the game 5-2 in favor of Nashville. Neal would notch his 10th goal, along with Roman Josi picking up his 11th assist.

While Nashville certainly woke up in the third period, is their scoreless streak finally over? I wouldn’t bet my money on it just yet. While they are making a consistent effort, something just isn’t connecting. Coach Laviolette made some notable line change-ups last night that aided in securing the win, but there is still a missing element. With the need of a top center added to the roster and the possible loss of Mike Fisher for a good while, Nashville may find itself in a toughie for a bit. Maybe not. Who knows.

The Predators welcome in Jaromir Jagr and the Florida Panthers tomorrow night at 7PM.

By now, everyone is pretty familiar of the baggage Mike Ribeiro packed with him when he was signed by the Nashville Predators in the off-season last year. Personal issues off-ice finally began to affect his on-ice performance, eventually cutting ties with the Arizona Coyotes. Yes, the signing of Mike Ribeiro was definitely a bold move by David Poile, but that risk turned quickly to reward, with Ribeiro ending the 2014-15 season 15-47-62. He also played in all 82 games.

Ribeiro left the Coyotes in search of a new start with a new organization willing to give him a chance. Nashville was that answer, and – as far as we know and from what we saw on ice – his off-ice issues all but were left in the desert. Unfortunately, the past has continued to creep up behind Ribeiro everywhere he goes and the Music City was no exception.

In March, TMZ reported that a former nanny of the Ribeiros was suing Mike for sexual assault and his wife, Tamara, for verbal abuse. The Predators were quick to make a very basic statement, which was about all they could honestly do at the time with such little information of the accusation:

“We have been made aware of a complaint against Mike Ribeiro, dating back to his playing time while he was in Dallas,” the Predators said in a statement. “Mike has indicated that the charge is without merit and is prepared to vigorously defend himself. We will allow the legal process to move forward without further comment.”

After a week or two, the hype over this accusation died down and, to be honest, most of us completely forgot about it altogether. On The Forecheck, however, did not forget about it and made the initial update earlier this afternoon.

Because OTF has all the latest on this subject, I will direct you to their site for the full story. Be warned, however, some of the details are very graphic and may be disturbing to many readers.

Now that you are back (hopefully) from reading that, yeah… yikes, y’all. Of course, along with this new update and information, a lot of people are questioning that initial statement from the Predators organization and just how much they did know about this incident before signing in back in the off-season. Of course, you have to also account for the following facts:

The victim had not come forward before David Poile and the organization signed Ribeiro.

Mike and his wife may not have gone into detail as to what exactly those “off-ice personal issues” were.

David Poile is not a newbie at this; there is no doubt he did his due-diligence before signing Ribeiro.

Seriously, I stand firm in saying that the Predators and David Poile did not know of the details of the accusations until the victim took action. Here’s an article excerpt from Dan Rosen regarding Poile’s due diligence back when Ribeiro was first signed:

Poile said the Predators did their due diligence on Ribeiro. He said they talked to former teammates, coaches, general managers and more people inside and outside Ribeiro’s circle, including Predators forward James Neal, who played with Ribeiro in Dallas from 2008-11.

“It’s well known that Ribeiro had some off-ice situations that he had to take care of. He has done that,” Poile said. “He and his family were separated and now they’re back together. He and his wife [Tammy] and three kids [Mikael, Noah and Viktoria] are trying to make a new life, want to make a new life for themselves here in Nashville.”

Poile wouldn’t divulge any details as to what Ribeiro has done to address the issues he was dealing with off the ice, saying it was personal information. He did say any further off-ice issues would not be tolerated.

“We can’t have a distraction on our team. We can’t have something that’s affecting our franchise,” Poile said. “Mike and his wife realize that. There is no tolerance for off-ice issues. This clearly is really his last chance.“

I mean, has everyone really forgotten that whole curfew-gate from the 2012 Playoffs when Andre Kostitsyn and Alexander Radulov frolicked around Scottsdale and were suspended by Poile – no the league – for Game 3 for their violation. And, as we all know the outcome now, Radulov and A. Kostitsyn were not re-signed the next season. Needless to say, David Poile does not take off-ice shenanigans lightly and, as I stated, you know he did his digging before finally okaying the Ribeiro contract.

As mentioned by On The Forecheck, the next hearing is set with a July 27th deadline. It will be interesting, since Ribeiro will be seeking a contract extension this year, as he was only signed to a one-year deal last July. Unfortunately, due to his past coming back to haunt him (whether guilty or not), his future in Nashville may be on the chopping block, despite having one of the best seasons of his career.

The Predators came out with a little more fire under their belts, but goaltender Louis Domingue interrupted all 13 SOG that Nashville mustered. For someone who has only tended NHL ice once previously to this match, Domingue brought his A-game; a testament to his solid abilities.

Pekka was on point, too, last night, blocking all nine shots-on-goal from the Coyotes in the first period.

SECOND PERIOD:

At 3:26 into the second period, Paul Gaustad collected his third goal of the season with assistance from Taylor Beck (7).

Both Arizona and Nashville were given two power play opportunities, but neither could capitalize on the advantage.

The Coyotes out-shot the Predators eleven to eight.

THIRD PERIOD:

At 7:27 into the third, the Coyotes set the game with a tip-in from Kyle Chipchura, his 4th goal of the season.

Nashville was awarded three power play chances in the third, including one that would follow up to the end of regulation, but they were unable to connect.

The Predators out-shot the Coyotes twelve to eight in the third period.

OVERTIME:

James Neal came to the rescue, scoring his 22nd goal of the season just 2:45 in overtime. Seth Jones (17) and Cody Franson (29) tallied the assists on Neal’s game-winning-goal.

POST GAME NOTES:

The Predators are now 8-0-1 when Paul Gaustad notches a point during the span of a game.

Nashville is also 9-1-2 when Viktor Stalberg is in the lineup.

Gaustad’s goal ends another poignant streak; the eleven-straight games without tallying the first goal. Reminder: six of those eleven resulted in losses.

Cody Franson tallied his first point with the Predators since being traded to the team back in February (and, if we want to get really technical, his first points with the Preds since the 2010-11 season).

With two points, the Predators jump the Anaheim Ducks to reclaim first in the Western Conference and league. That’s an amazing stat in its own, that Nashville was able to lose six-straight and still bounce back into the lead with one win.

Pekka Rinne now has 199 career wins and the Predators franchise now has their 599th win.

The Predators aren’t out of hot water just yet; oh no. Nashville heads further west, taking on all three teams in California before making it back home on Tuesday to face the Minnesota Wild. The Sharks, who Nashville plays Thursday night at 9:30PM, will be desperately looking for a win as they are sitting in fifth in the Pacific Division and just one point behind the Kings.

Oh, hey guys! Yes, I am still alive, even through this six-game losing streak. Not only does that have me down, midterms have me locked down for the time being as well. I mean, who honestly makes a midterm 6 ½ hours long? UofM professors, that’s who.

Anyways, let’s get back on subject, shall we? What’s the subject? Oh yes, Viktor Stalberg has popped back into the Predators roster again! Honestly, the man should just buy a personal jet and sleep in it as opposed to a condo/apartment/whatever. Stalberg received the recall after it was announced Eric Nystrom would miss the next few weeks due to a lower-body injury. Also, Anton Volchenkov has been released from the IR.

Stalberg has been quite the hero within the Admirals, scoring 17 points (11 goals, 6 assists) in 20 games with the Preds’ farm team. However, he just hasn’t had that same momentum on the NHL level, but we are hoping – due to this slump – he might just be what Nashville needs to power back.

Columbus, Ohio was the place to be this weekend has the city hosted the 2015 NHL All-Star Weekend. As you know, Nashville was chosen as the host city for the 2016 ASG Weekend, which will be an event on its own. But until then, let’s recap the fun that happened this weekend in Columbus… Oh, and for the sake of keeping this post from being ninety pages long, we’ll stick to Nashville’s accomplishments:

Team Foligno:

Nick Foligno – Columbus Blue Jackets

Brian Elliot – St. Louis Blues

Marc-Andre Fleury – Pittsburgh Penguins

Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens

Drew Doughty – L.A. Kings

Duncan Keith – Chicago Blackhawks

Kevin Shattenkirk – St. Louis Blues

Dustin Byfuglien – Winnipeg Jets

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Arizona Coyotes

Brent Burns – San Jose Sharks

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Edmonton Oilers

Bobby Ryan – Ottawa Senators

Alexander Ovechkin – Washington Capitals

Anze Kopitar – L.A. Kings

Radim Vrabata – Vancouver Canucks

Ryan Johansen – Columbus Blue Jackets

Zemgus Girgensons – Buffalo Sabres

Claude Giroux – Philadelphia Flyers

Phil Kessel – Toronto Maple Leafs

Patrick Kane – Chicago Blackhawks

Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning

Coaching Staff: Darryl Sutter – L.A. Kings

Team Toews:

Jonathan Toews – Chicago Blackhawks

Corey Crawford – Chicago Blackhawks

Roberto Luongo – Florida Panthers

Jaroslav Halak – New York Islanders

Aaron Ekblad – Florida Panthers

Mark Giordano – Calgary Flames

Shea Weber – Nashville Predators

Johnny Gaudreau – Calgary Flames

Brent Seabrook – Chicago Blackhawks

Ryan Suter – Minnesota Wild

Justin Faulk – Carolina Hurricanes

Filip Forsberg – Nashville Predators

Ryan Getzlaf – Anaheim Ducks

Patrik Elias – New Jersey Devils

Patrice Bergeron – Boston Bruins

Rick Nash – New York Rangers

Tyler Seguin – Dallas Stars

Vladimir Tarasenko – St. Louis Blues

Jakub Vorachek – Philadelphia Flyers

John Tavares – New York Islanders

Coaching Staff – Peter Laviolette – Nashville Predators

As you recall, Pekka Rinne was not included in the All-Star “draft” due to sustaining a knee sprain. Because Filip Forsberg was chosen last for Team Toews, he was the lucky winner of a brand new Honda Accord. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also won a new Honda, as he was chosen last for Team Foligno.

Source: @NHL

Saturday – Skills Competition – Winner: Team Foligno

Despite a good show by Team Toews, it was Team Foligno who reigned in the Skills Competition held on Saturday evening. Both Weber and Forsberg participated in the relay and shootout, but it was Weber who shined – not surprisingly – during the Hardest Shot round.

Shea originally missed his first shot, but more than nailed his second attempt, clocking his shot at 108.5 MPH. Weber certainly won the competition, but missed notching the hardest shot ever recorded, which is held by Zdeno Chara at 108.8 MPH. Forsberg shined in the relay portion, showing off his crazy insane puck-handling skills.

Sunday – All-Star Game – Winner: Team Toews

Though the fell short in the Skills Competition, Team Toews out-powered Team Foligno by a long shot during the actual All-Star Game, winning 17-12. And, believe it or not, though the All-Star Game tends to always have a ton of goals, this was the highest scoring game in its history. Filip Forsberg’s two goals helped get Team Toews to the win, the first goals scored by a Nashville Predator in an All-Star Game. Shea Weber also notched an assist off of Tyler Seguin’s goal.

From the World Wide World of Twitter:

"He's a special player. He's really talented. He sees the ice really well & has great hands." – Johnny Gaudreau on linemate Filip Forsberg.

So that’s a wrap on the 2015 NHL All-Star Weekend. Next Stop: Nashville! But before then, the Predators must press forward with the remainder of this season and push into the playoffs. Pekka Rinne should also be re-evaluated soon, along with Ryan Ellis. The Predators return to the regular season this Tuesday as they welcome in the Colorado Avalanche at 7PM.

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